In many product applications it is desirable that fibrous webs have a bulky texture and/or softness. For example, textile wovens known as terry cloth have a bulky texture and softness and are often used for bath towels, wiping cloths, bibs, clothing, and upholstery fabric. Terry cloth is woven on specially made weaving machines, such as rapier weaving machines. Terry cloth is characterized by tufted loops of thread, and the tufts can be varied in number and density of loops. However, terry cloth is relatively expensive due to the relatively complex and expensive weaving machines necessary for its manufacture. The expense of terry cloth makes it commercially unfeasible for many applications, particularly for articles intended for limited use, such as disposable absorbent articles.
Attempts have been made to produce a nonwoven fabric having the appearance of terry cloth. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,726 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,799, both to Holmes et al., describe an apertured, ribbed terry cloth-like nonwoven fabric produced by fluid entangling of fibers on a special forming belt. Even if apertures could be avoided in the method disclosed in Holmes et al., it is well known that fluid entangling is a relatively expensive process for manufacture of nonwoven webs, particularly for webs intended for disposable article use. Furthermore, webs formed by fluid entangling typically have been subjected to forces of the fluid in all the regions of the web so that the entire web is subjected to the applied mechanical energy of the fluid forces.
Other methods are known to provide bulky texture and/or softness. One method includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,518,801 and 5,650,214 and US publication 2002-0128617-A1 which describe methods of providing elastic-like behavior and soft, cloth-like texture. Other methods include the PGI Apex technology described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,670,234 and 4,674,591, among others.
Despite attempts made, there is a further desire to produce nonwoven webs with terry cloth-like properties.